Hi, my D is kind of unlucky this summer. All the summer camps got canceled. She tried local community colleges to see if she can take some courses but was surprised to see almost all the courses she is interested are full when the registration is open to her priority.
She has a plan to take dual enrollment this fall. Now she is worried that maybe she won’t be able to get any the courses she’d like to take. Any alternatives or backup options available for high school students? Thanks
Options for summer or for fall?
In our area, fall enrollment for dual enrollment opened in April. Last day to request a class paid for by the county is tomorrow.
Has she looked to see if fall offerings are out and what the reservation window is?
You could try some college’s extension programs?
Remember this was not her initial plan but for many it was there plan all along so they registered earlier - nothing wrong with that. Not sure what you mean to her priority - here dual enrollment kids sign up based on how many college credits they have and are in the same pool as kids attending the college but even with no credits registration opened a few weeks ago.
However you said almost all but not all - have her take what is available. It is summer so she doesn’t want a full load.
Our high school students in dual enrollment for the fall are already registered for classes. I would check with your high school to see how they handle it. If they normally sign up this late I’m sure there are classes to choose from but if she is just deciding late then less likely to have a full range of options.
For back up plans talk to your high school because they are the ones that need to approve of dual enrollment if the goal is to do it for high school. My daughter did two full years of high school early college and loved it. She received all information from the high school so that classes were approved, high school credits received, and classes were free plus free book rentals. You can ask if there is a school approved virtual high school if the only dual enrollment they approved is the school you are looking at.
For fall. There are some colleges offering summer schools, pre-college courses, in the summer. But in the fall, any good alternatives other than community colleges? Thank
Fall registration is still far away for dual enrollment. It is just opened for the summer term, but the problem is all seats are gone and even waiting list is close to full when it is the registration time for their priority. Dual enrollment has the lowest priority 
Group 8
Dual or concurrently enrolled high school students
July 27
Group 8 registration opens
Thanks and will do some search …
The reason I said almost full is because we searched lots of other community colleges and some seem to have a few open courses. But other community colleges need some paperwork first before registering. For example, you need apply for a new student ID which takes 5-7 bus. days, then you can ask HS officials to give permission, get approval then register. I’m afraid when all is done, the seats will be gone too.
In our HS district, we have three different ways for HS students to take college courses: Middle College, College Now and Dual Enrollment. Middle College allows students to spend their junior and senior year in college and College Now allows the senior year. Both have higher priority. Regular Dual Enrollment is for kids mainly in HS and only take less than 11 credit units from a local community college. Those Dual Enrollment kids have the lowest priority
Hi, My D is planning to dual enrollment as well. She is waiting to hear from the state flagship to find out if she is admitted. Something that I learned from a friend and also at the dual enrollment information at our local Hs (MN) was that students can enroll in multiple colleges. So, maybe you can’t find a class at one college but between the two or three you can find the classes needed. It sounded a little messy to me so she is just sticking with the one and hoping to find courses she likes. If your D is open to online classes…and that may be the only option this fall anyway…think of schools outside of your normal driving area. There are some colleges that seem to have a great deal of online classes and do them well. What state are you in-this could help others with ideas of what schools do online well in your state. I have heard good things about online classes from Northwestern in MN.
Do these community colleges normally fill up for classes? My experience, and those of my children, is that many classes a.re filled but right after school starts spots open up. This may not work for hs students doing dual enrollment, unless you have a hs counselor who also knows that spots will open.
We live in CA. You mean other community colleges for dual enrollment, or some online courses from regular colleges? I’m worried about the quality and whether it will give college admission some bad impression.
Maybe it is because of COVID-19. We were very surprised to see almost all the classes interesting to her got quickly filled up, even before it is open to Dual Enrollment. Wish it is easier for Dual Enrollment kids in the fall term.
Yes hopefully she will be lucky enough to get off the waitlist later
our system is just different here and our de students register in April when college students register. We have early college which is full time de for junior and/or senior year and de for high school sophomores and up who may take 1 de class a semester in addition to a full high school schedule. All students are still eligible to participate in all high school extra curricular. Our de is only allowed through 1 school so no real choices here. Summer courses are not allowed here as official de classes so I think you can take them if you pay for everything but it won’t count at all for high school.
I really hope it works out for your daughter. My oldest did two years of de and loved the independence of the college schedule and being on a college campus. Her commute was longer though a friend rode right by there and she got a ride in the morning. Some things to consider with full time de is the location esp if classes are not back to back. I also suggest seeing if the college has an activity time - my daughter did some college and some high school ecs. She also took full advantage of checking out colleges visiting the campus - they didn’t care if she was not a typical college student looking to transfer.
My daughter did not bother with an associates even though she had two years worth of classes. Instead she took classes she needed for high school graduation, any class still needed for typical college admission then filled in the rest with electives she was interested in. She took one elective for fun as a way to test if she wanted to pursue it further for her bachelor’s which she found more beneficial. She is now set to graduate with that subject as part of her double concentration. My tip is once she starts save all syllabi since depending on where she applies for college they may ask for them.
As a CA HS student who is doing BOTH dual enrollment & Middle College and has been on a college class waitlist, here’s what I know.
I was able to get off the waitlist for my Spring course which started registration in late April. I sent the professor an email and I waited for a bit before coming off the waitlist. I wasn’t even on the official waitlist (requested an Add code) and I decided to email the professor (which the site suggested) and expressed my interest in taking the course.
I have not heard back for Summer yet (on waitlist), but I will probably find out soon.
For most high school students doing dual, I have met students who were doing dual at the CC I am attending. It wasn’t hard for them to register for the courses. I was also told that sometimes they are given better registration dates if they’re told to register at the same time as the Middle College kids. I also know that it’s possible to be accepted into the Honors Program (was accepted to my CC’s honors program) and they have a pretty great registration date but there are some requirements for that like taking some honors courses.
However, I’ve been told that it’s very possible that getting these courses will be more difficult this coming year with what’s going on. I’d suggest trying to fill out the forms in advance, especially if they’re available for online submission. And ofc, getting the student ID as soon as possible.
Good to know that there is an honors program and found our local CC also has one. I will check with the program officer to see if that will promise a better registration priority.
This year is crazy. We never thought it is so hard for this summer. The summer is no longer available, no CC class to register. Hope fall will be better… and need to start the process earlier.